Friday, August 30, 2013

(La Rochelle, France)- J/120 RHAPSODY V won the Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Class 3 and was third overall in IRC of nearly 200 boats! Their program was launched two years ago by Jean-Jacques Godet (of the famous French cognac house of the same name) with a largely La Rochelle-based crew.

"It was a family and friends project," explains Tony Pike, manager of
North Sails. "Jean-Jacques Godet bought the boat and then he came to see
me to buy sails. I helped organize the crew and tried to make good
progress."

In particular, they made use of professional sailors in "key positions"
as part of the whole crew. For the Fastnet Race, Tony convinced Yannick
Bestaven (hoping defend his Class 40 title in the next Transat Jacques
Vabre) to join the adventure.

The La Rochelle team has had a very successful summer racing offshore.
In Cowes Race Week they finished third in class on the Solent (the start
for the Fastnet Race). And, in May they won the Armen Race. So, the
third overall finish in Plymouth illustrates the remarkable progression
of RHAPSODY V over the past two years.

It has been a great, heart-warming success for Jean-Jacques Godet, who
had aboard his two sons (Maxime and Jean-Edouard). Other Rochelais
sailors that were present included Tony Pike, Yannick Bestaven, Florian
Floglietti, Augustin Frédéric Ruffle and Leclere.

M. Godet was able to attract experienced professional sailors of Yannick
Bestaven's calibre because, beyond just the racing, the enormous
numbers of IRC sailors are also potential customers for Bestaven's
company-- WATT & SEA-- renown for making high quality, reliable
hydro-generators for sailing yachts and offshore racing and cruising
boats of all sizes.

Said Tony Pike of their experience, "What we want is that the owner has
great fun both on the water and on land. We're here to help tactically,
provide information on weather options, help on navigation, and
fine-tune sail trim." Clearly they achieved their goals while
maintaining crew cohesion and a family-like atmosphere of cooperation!